1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for treating a belt-like article with various finishing processes, and more particularly to a belt-like article treating method and apparatus in which only one surface of a continuously travelling belt-like article is guided by a guide member, an adequate length of travelling path of the belt-like article can be secured, the tension of the belt-like article can be adjusted to a proper value, and the cost of production can be reduced with simple construction.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the dyeing process, a cloth product, which is made of a knit, woven or non-woven cloth of natural fibers, i.e. cellulose fibers or protein fibers, semi-synthetic fibers, or synthetic fibers of ester, polyamide or other group, is usually treated by various finishing processes, e.g. steaming, refining (bleaching), dyeing, cleaning and desizing, individually or in combination.
The foregoing finishing processes take place sometimes batchwise in a high-pressure tank, but practically they are carried out continuously in and along a tightly closed treatment chamber. During this continuous processing, the travelling cloth is guided up and down in a meandering path in the treatment chamber between upper and lower rows of guide rollers as merely wound sequentially therearound under a predetermined tension or in a tensionless state, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. Sho 47-21276, thus taking a long travel within the treatment chamber.
However, in the conventional guiding method, the guide rollers contact both the front and back surfaces of the cloth; if the cloth is a surface fastener having a multiplicity of hooks or loops on one surface or an ordinary knit or woven cloth having loops on opposite surfaces, the hooks and loops are squeezed out of shape as the hooked and looped surfaces are pressed against the guide rollers, deteriorating the commercial value.
Attempts have therefore been made to keep one surface of the cloth out of contact with the guide rollers while the cloth is travelling in the treatment chamber as guided by the guide rollers. In a guiding method as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Publications Nos. Sho 49-26107 and Sho 47-42540 and Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. Sho 52-128786, a belt-like article is sequentially carried by a row of conveyor rollers arranged horizontally in an upper part of the treatment chamber in a tensionless state, slouching between the successive conveyor rollers, with only one surface of the belt-like article in contact with the conveyor rollers.
In another guiding method as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. Sho 56-38704, a belt-like article is sequentially carried by a large number of guide rollers arranged spirally in a treatment chamber, while the belt-like article is being guided in and along the treatment chamber from one end to the other. In this guiding method, like the method mentioned in the previous paragraph, only one surface of the continuously travelling belt-like article contacts the guide rollers so that the hooks and loops are prevented from being squeezed out of shape by the guide rollers.
In the guide method of Japanese Patent Publication No. Sho 49-26107, in which the belt-like article is guided in a partly slouching state, since it can be processed only in a tensionless state, the belt-like article tends to shrink as processed and requires a very complicated control to synchronize the rate of paying out the belt-like article with the rate of taking it up.
With the guide method of Japanese Patent Publication No. Sho 56-38704, in which the belt-like article is guided in a spiral path, it is advantageous in giving a predetermined tension to the belt-like article, but it requires a complex guide mechanism, which is expensive.